Being a muse

(Nimue)

Originally, the muses were beings with deity status, and it was understood that inspiration came from them, to be manifested by people. Somewhere along the line that sacred wonder was replaced with the idea of a passive, beautiful woman whose beauty leads a male creator to do their thing. If you’d like to read some especially horrible thoughts on this, Robert Graves in The White Goddess explains why women cannot be poets.

The idea that women are supposed to be passive and men are supposed to be active does none of us any favours. Thankfully in Druidry, the idea of inspiration is in no way linked to sexy ladies. The Awen as a force has nothing to do with gender. It gives us much more interesting possibilities around the idea of how we might bring inspiration into the world.

There’s considerably more to inspiration than lounging about looking pretty. Anyone sharing their own creativity might potentially inspire someone else. It’s also a factor when we share ideas, direct attention to other people’s creativity, invite action and ask for input. There are many ways in which one person can bring inspiration to another, and every day brings possibilities on that score. Finding you’ve inspired someone else is usually an exciting and uplifting experience, as well.

It’s worth thinking about the opportunities we have to lift and encourage each other. The world has a lot of people in it who set out to undermine, to knock others down and discourage them. Knocking down is an easy thing to do that calls for little skill, knowledge or imagination. Inspiring people can take a bit more effort, but is intrinsically beautiful and rewarding. It’s a way of bringing magic into your own life, and into someone else’s.